At least four crore or 10 per cent of the free textbooks would not reach the students on the first day of 2025, according to the officials of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board.
The board is now working to print books for the secondary level on priority basis due to the delay caused by revision of the textbooks and tender processes.
The printing of the textbooks for the secondary level students are yet to start.
The printers鈥� association leaders, meanwhile, said that around 50 per cent of the textbooks would remain undistributed on the first day of the next year.
鈥楾ill today, around two crore textbooks for the primary level students were printed, and by December 15 all pre-primary to primary level books will be printed and distributed at upazila level,鈥� NCTB chairman professor AKM Reazul Hassan told 抖阴精品 on Tuesday.
He said that already 18 crore textbooks out of total 40 crore were at the printing stage.
By the next week 12 crore more textbooks would go to the printing stage, the chairman said and added that by December 25 around 90 per cent of the textbooks would be printed and sent at the upazila level for distribution on the first day of 2025.
鈥榃e will distribute the rest of the 10 per cent in the first week of January next year,鈥� said the NCTB chair.
鈥榃e gave one crore textbooks for the students of Class X to the Army Printing Press to print on priority basis under the direct purchase method as these students will sit for the Secondary School Certificate and equivalent examinations next year,鈥� he said and added that these books would be completed and distributed by December 15.
Regarding the secondary level books, some subjects, including Bangla, English, mathematics, Bangladesh and World Civilisation and science, were given priority for printing, he also said.
The chairman put the delay in printing down to re-tenders for the secondary level books, increase in the number of textbooks and review of the textbooks as per the national curriculum of 2012.
鈥榃e took two months to review the books,鈥� he added.
In 2025, according to the NCTB, 40.15 crore textbooks will be distributed among around four crore pre-primary, primary, secondary, secondary vocational, ebtedayee, dakhil vocational, ethnic minority and visually challenged students across the country.
The number of textbooks for the pre-primary level students is 62 lakh, primary level students is 8.55 crore, and for the secondary level students is 30.81 crore.
Also in 2024, total 1.92 lakh textbooks will be distributed to the students from five minority national minority communities.
In 2025, the number of free textbooks increased by around 27 per cent compared with the current year鈥檚 around 31.7 crore textbooks that were distributed.聽聽
NCTB chairman professor AKM Reazul Hassan said that tenders for printing the secondary level books were completed and the process of fund allocation was ongoing.
鈥楩rom next week the printing of secondary level books will start,鈥� he added.
Textbook Printers and Markets Association of Bangladesh president Tofayel Khan said that printing of two crore textbooks for primary level was complete, but around 50 per cent of the finishing work of these printed lot had yet to complete.聽
鈥楢s per our observation, by December this year around 50 per cent books will be ready to be sent to the upazilas for distribution,鈥� he said.
He added that this year the number of books also increased particularly because of changes brought in the curriculum adding more text books for the Class X students.
鈥楨very year the tender process usually gets completed by August and from the end of August the books go to printing,鈥� Tofayel said, adding, 鈥榯his year due to the regime change the printing started in November.鈥�
Additionally, he mentioned that the secondary level textbooks to be used for 2025 had more pages and so took more time for printing, contributing to the overall delay.
After the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime on August 5 and formation of the interim government led by professor Muhammad Yunus on August 8, the government announced to print textbooks for the year 2025 as per the 2012 curriculum instead of 2021鈥檚 new curriculum.
This year the NCTB is printing extra books for Class X students as per the 2012 curriculum, as under the 2021 curriculum there were no division of groups in Class IX and X.
The government has been distributing free textbooks for pre-primary to secondary-level students since 2010.
